Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 157(@200wpm)___ 126(@250wpm)___ 105(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 157(@200wpm)___ 126(@250wpm)___ 105(@300wpm)
“So, you don’t know what spell he was doing?”
“Not a freaking clue.”
“But you’ll be able to help him with your magic?”
Sky sighed and slumped a little in his chair. “Maybe, but probably not. Magic is…” He pressed his lips together and glanced over at Nolan.
The sweet man actually smiled at him, melting Sky’s heart into a bubbling puddle in his chest. “I know we agreed no magic to give me a night off, but you’re definitely allowed to talk about it. It’s a big part of who you are, and I want to know everything I can about you. I do want to understand your world. Just…not all at once.”
“Well, not all magic is the same. As you know, I’m a necromancer, and a lot of my magic is powered through death and the underworld. I can do some things like my friends, but my power comes from a different place. Mad and Red are earth witches. They’re sort of the other end of the spectrum from me. Mad and Red can work together on a single spell because they’re the same. If I try to cast a spell with Mad or Red, things tend to get really weird.”
“What about Moon?”
Sky bit his bottom lip and watched Nolan out of the corner of his eye for a second. “Moon…Moon is very rare. Even more rare than a necromancer. He’s a blood witch.”
“That means his magic is blood based?”
God love Nolan, the man didn’t even blink at that. Of course, every other fucking witch out there would be hissing and freaking out.
“Yeah, pretty much. He does use his own blood for about ninety percent of his spells, though.”
“Does that mean that on the spectrum, Moon is between you and Maddox?”
Sky wrinkled his nose. “Not really. In the realm of magic, Moon is his own separate thing. He can’t cast spells with me or Mad and Red. But he is a total badass.”
Nolan chuckled softly. “He seems so chill. Like nothing could ever surprise him or ruffle his feathers. Totally go-with-the-flow.”
He nodded. “He is very chill. There have been times when we’re all together and doing a little witch’s brew. It goes completely wrong. Mad, Red, and I are losing our shit. Moon is just nodding and saying, ‘Yeah, we got this.’ Nothing ever surprises him.”
“That makes him the laid-back one of your coven. What’s your role?”
Sky sank in his seat and huffed. There was a question he’d never expected Nolan to ask. Definitely not this early in their dating life.
Oh, he knew the answer to the question. He knew exactly what Mad, Red, and Moon would say without a second of hesitation.
“Mom,” Sky mumbled. The single word barely lifted over the sound of the tires on the road.
“What? Did you say ‘Mom’?”
Sky sighed again. “Yes. They say I’m the mom of the group. I keep Red and Mad from fighting. I nag them when someone doesn’t dress appropriately for the cold weather. And I’m always the one who has snacks, ibuprofen, and sunscreen for outings.”
Nolan fell against his door, his laughter flooding the tiny car. Sky rolled his eyes. Lovely. This certainly helped to make him sexy to the man he very much wanted to drag to bed.
“Oh, my God, it’s not just me you try to feed!” Nolan gasped between snickers.
“No, but you’re my favorite person to feed.” Sky wanted to keep flirting, but all words had left him.
He’d turned his car onto Mad’s quiet street filled with homes that were well over a century old. The sidewalks were lined with old maples and oaks that were just beginning to fill with new green leaves. Streetlights had popped on, pushing back some of the shadows and illuminating the big crowd of neighbors who were standing in the middle of the road, gawking at Mad’s three-story house with the intricate scrollwork, pretty white shutters, and elegant stained glass.
Mad’s house was a work of art and the crown jewel of the street. It was even more eye-catching during the summer, when all the flowers were in bloom and the hedges were neatly sculpted into whimsical shapes.
But right now, the crowd wasn’t paying attention to the house. No, they were all pointing toward the purple cloud hanging directly above the house, as he and Nolan had predicted. As the sky grew darker with the approach of night, the cloud took on darker and darker purple tones so that some of it now looked black.
There was no way to shrug this off and say it was nothing. The cloud was squatting over Mad’s house. A light breeze stirred the leaves in the trees and sent bits of flotsam scurrying down the street, but it did nothing to move the cloud.
What the hell had Mad done now?
Chapter 2
Nolan Banks
Nolan barely noticed that Sky had parked the car a good distance away from Maddox’s house. Of course, there was a growing crowd standing in their way. There was no point in trying to safely wade through that.